1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to household appliances, and more particularly is an automated pill bottle opener that operates by pushing down on the cap of the pill bottle, rotating the cap relative to the bottle, and then resealing the bottle after it has been used.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The people who need medicine the most are often ill equipped to obtain it. Some medicine bottles can be quite difficult to open if the person trying to open the bottle does not have full use of both hands. As we age and are more and more likely to need medicines, our dexterity may well be impaired by any of several causesxe2x80x94strokes, arthritis, injuries, Parkinson""s disease, bursitis, and tendinitis are but a few of the conditions that can limit manual dexterity.
Since there are so many people who might need assistance in opening pill bottles, the prior art includes several examples of devices directed to this function. There are at least two references that disclose a means to press down on the top of a pill bottle cap while twisting the cap. One is the xe2x80x9cAPPARATUS FOR REMOVING A SAFETY CAP FROM A SAFETY CONTAINERxe2x80x9d by Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,181, issued Apr. 7, 1998. Another is the xe2x80x9cHAND-HELD CAP OPENER FOR CHILD RESISTANT CONTAINERSxe2x80x9d by Mikan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,069, issued Sep. 13, 1988. Both of these devices require the user to supply the power to open the bottle. In fact, the Mikan device would seem to require two hands to operate.
There are also references in the prior art that are related to a device that improves the user""s grip on the cap. One such device is the xe2x80x9cSELF-GRIPPING CAP REMOVER FOR CHILD RESISTANT MEDICATION CONTAINERSxe2x80x9d by Trick et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,763, issued Aug. 2, 1988, and another is the xe2x80x9cGRIPPER FOR CONTAINER CAPSxe2x80x9d by Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,129, issued Oct. 27, 1987. These devices enlarge the surface area that can be gripped, and provide better friction on the cap. However, the user must still supply the power to actually open the cap.
There are also references in the prior art that essentially just provide a better means of gripping two references of this type are the xe2x80x9cONE-HANDED CHILDPROOF MEDICINE BOTTLE OPENERxe2x80x9d by Laudani, U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,888, issued Mar. 27, 2001, and the xe2x80x9cPILL BOTTLE CAP REMOVAL DEVICExe2x80x9d by Hystead, U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,221, issued Nov. 17,1998. The Laudani device provides a mechanism to hold the lower end of the bottle securely in place, and the Hystead device provides a device to grip the cap. Two other references that provide mechanical means to improve a grip on the cap of a bottle are the xe2x80x9cMULTI-PURPOSE HAND TOOLxe2x80x9d of Penaligon et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,936, issued Apr. 22, 1997, and the xe2x80x9cCHILD RESISTANT CONTAINER OPENERxe2x80x9d of Silliman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,205, issued Feb. 14, 1978.
There are several devices in the prior art that just aid the user in prying the cap off the bottle. Among these are the xe2x80x9cREMOVER FOR CHILD RESISTANT CLOSURExe2x80x9d by Garby et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,859, issued May 24, 1994; the xe2x80x9cCONTAINER OPENING TOOLxe2x80x9d of Ross, U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,297, issued Feb. 14, 1995; the xe2x80x9cTOOL FOR REMOVING CAPS FROM CONTAINERSxe2x80x9d of Evans, U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,478, issued May 27, 1975; and the IMPLEMENT FOR OPENING SEALED CONTAINERSxe2x80x9d by Joyce, U.S. Pat. No. 2,702,652, issued Feb. 22, 1955.
The prior art does disclose efforts directed to actual removal of a lid. The xe2x80x9cJAR LID REMOVERxe2x80x9d of Sartell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,019, shows a device that automatically removes a jar lid. However, this device would not appear to work on a pill bottle, as there is no means of applying a downward force to the top of the bottle cap.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that enables a user to open a pill bottle with minimal hand strength and dexterity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device that can apply a downward force while rotating the cap.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that will reseal the pill bottle after it has been used.
The present invention is an automated pill bottle opener. To initiate an opening operation, the user simply places the bottle to be opened on a lower gripping surface that is affixed to a casing of the device. The user then moves a selector in a first direction.
A plunger assembly drives a plunger downward until a top gripping surface of a rotator assembly presses on the top of the bottle cap. As the top gripping surface of the rotator engages the cap, the rotator begins to rotate so that the cap turns with the rotator. As pressure is applied to the top of the cap, frictional contact of the bottom of the bottle with the lower gripping surface inhibits the bottle from rotation while the opener is operating on the cap. After the locking mechanism of the pill bottle cap is released, a pressure sensitive triggering device reverses the direction of travel of the plunger so that the plunger is again raised to its original position.
The automated pill bottle opener of the present invention also provides the user the capability of putting the cap back on the pill bottle as well. To do so, the user simply places the bottle to be resealed on the lower gripping surface with the cap positioned on the top of the bottle. The user then moves the selector in a second direction opposite to that of the direction moved to initiate the opening process. The plunger action of the device is identical, but the direction of rotation of the rotator is reversed so that the cap is latched back onto the bottle.
An advantage of the present invention is that the user does not need to grip the bottle cap to open the bottle.
Another advantage of the present invention is that essentially all the motive power for opening the bottle cap is supplied by the device.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that the device will also replace the cap on the bottle.